April 18, 2014

Today was my 24th birthday, tomorrow we'll be crazy busy getting things packed and in order, and...the next day we leave for Chicago! It feels like I've been planning for this for months, but somehow it arrived a little too fast and I'm running around trying to finish things. Isn't that always the way? Haha. Well anyway, before I left I wanted to make sure I did a little post about some of my newly listed favs in CharmingShopVintage. I hope you think they're as cool as I do!

This poodle is out-of-control wonderful! When I found him I had a sudden moment of disbelief followed by disappointment that I knew I couldn't keep him myself! He has some condition issues, but even with his old-age flaws, he's as perfect as can be.

This little Estate sale find is so gorgeous. I wanted to take breathtaking photos of her for the listing. One reason was to show everyone how truly lovely she is. The other reason is that somehow I have formed some unspoken bond with her over the months she's been in my possession. I wanted to have nice photos to remember her by and possible frame up in my house. Even when she does go to a new home, I can keep a picture of her. Oh, the downsides of selling vintage!

I wish I fit this dress. It's so adorable and it reminds me of the dresses my Grandma used to wear. I always wished I could have had her wardrobe. She had the most amazing collection of striped, polka dotted and pastel dresses. This little number would've fit right in. This dress fits a petite, small to small/medium frame - like me, but I don't have the shoulders to pull this one off. Someone out there will look spectacular in it.

It took a lot of thought, but I decided to sell this Pyrex dish. I got it a few years back when we had our apartment. One of my other Grandma's friends was downsizing their home and gave me two big boxes of old kitchen things. I got a lot of casserole dishes, which were much needed at that point in time. We didn't have a lot of stuff back then. This Pyrex casserole dish was among them. These days I have so many kitchen things, so I decided someone else should get some use out of it.

I have recently listed a few Avon containers collected at a variety of Estate Sales and garage sales. There are even more to come. Some of them are really quite beautiful!

Alright that's all I'll show. I know I promised a bathroom renovation blog post this week, but somehow I ran out of time. That'll be held back until we get home, but no longer! Also in case you're wondering, I'm also leaving my shops active so purchases can go through while I'm away. Please message me with any questions or comments, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. I will be checking on both shops often.

Thanks for stopping by for a read. Bye for now! I'll write when I get home from the trip!

April 14, 2014

The very first episode of Mad Men Season 7 aired last night. Did you watch it?! I was at work and missed it, but caught up when I got home! I'm definitely excited to see what happens in this last season. And of course I'm ready for all the fashion and style that comes along with it. I'm not going to lie, I recently marathoned the other six seasons to recap and be ready for this one. Nothing has inspired me more lately than the 60s and 70s.

While I work on my art I like to have movies or tv shows playing in the background. (I'm a crazy multitasker.) Mad Men has been an excellent companion to my art-making, because I've used it as inspiration for developing a lot of the vintage-inspired patterns and designs found in my work.

I'm sensing you'll see some nods to late 1960s/early 1970s patterns in my newer, yet to be finished pieces. In terms of Mad Men itself, I can't wait to see where all the story lines end up. It's been quite the adventure and I've been loving every second of it.

Here are some fabulous retro dresses and tops from a variety of Etsy Vintage Shops.

( Two of them are mine from CharmingShopVintage. Sorry for the self-advertising, but they fit in here so well!)

April 06, 2014

Within the next few days I'd like to share our bathroom renovation, but I thought first I would show you some other bathroom designs I used as inspiration. The photo above is my very favourite of the bunch. I love its swooping architectural look and bright colours to match. Found here.

I included this photo in my collection, because it most resembled our bathroom when we bought the house. Everything matched a little too well. In this case it was a tad outdated, but I found having a photo of a similar look in the group really made me focus on the fact that I wanted to keep the bathroom as true to the original concept as possible. Just little updates to modernize it. Found here.

What I took from this picture was the crisp and clean look of the white walls. I knew right away that I wanted to brighten up the space with small pops of colour, so keeping the walls bright white was a given. (And when you have powder blue fixtures like we do, you have limited options anyway.) Found here.

From the beginning I had picked orange to partner the blue already present everywhere in our bathroom. I thought a lot about how to incorporate orange and blue together, without making it too crazy. These two retro bathrooms are a little tacky and over the top, but I really appreciate the use of colour. Found here.

Lastly, I wanted it to have a really funky, psychedelic feel to it. I was aiming for some retro 60s/70s shapes. This picture had everything I was looking for. (Except not quite in colour and this is obviously not a bathroom.) Found here.

We're still working out a few of the final details of our little renovation, but other than that, it's looking quite marvellous these days. I can't wait to show you!

April 02, 2014

I've been wanting to commit more to daily life posts, but it's funny to do them when I don't have too much going on right now. Things have been crazy lately though. So many highs and lows. I'm taking it all in and accepting everything for what it is. Here are a few things I've been handling lately.

The other week I went to the hospital for an appointment I've been waiting over a year for. I've been very sick for a long time now and have been making due as best I can. The appointment didn't go as planned and I left feeling very discouraged and alone. But when I think about it, it only confirms what I thought beforehand, I have to tackle this with strength. I'm in charge of my own life and my own health. I know my body and my limits. I can do this.

Baby Holly, the first day we got her.

Exactly one week ago we said goodbye to one of our fur babies. Holly was our very first pet together. She was part of a new chapter where we realized we'd be starting a life together. We named her after Holly Golightly, Audrey Hepburn's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's. She was small and dainty, and lived most of her life with severe anxiety. She was a handful, hard to take care of, and things had been spiralling out of our control for so long. We finally had to make the choice to put her down. It was one of those terrible things you hope you never have to do and a decision you never want to have to make. Even with all her troubles, we loved her deeply as a member of our family. I'm never going to forget her sweet little face. Our team of four Is down to three. We're all a little heartbroken and lonely.

Yep, worst fear. That was really depressing. Don't worry, things haven't just been sad lately, I promise. It's been sort of bittersweet. My boyfriend and I are both powering through our creative paths recently. I don't think I've talked about it in too much depth before, but my boyfriend, Wai has been illustrating two educational comic books for about a year and a half now. They're part of a fabulous series based on Native Canadian historical figures. One book is still in the works, but the first (among other stories illustrated by a few other artists) is available to purchase already. In fact there's going to be a book signing in the coming months! I am just so proud of him. Not only is he extremely talented, but I'm so thrilled he could be a part of such a special project. These books are aimed at a younger audience and I just know they'll get kids excited and proud of their heritage.

As for me, I have recently been asked to be featured in a couple television segments for my handmade confetti. It's really a dream come true, especially considering how tiny my shop is at this point in time.

I've been trying to dress up whenever I can to make myself feel better. I think it's kind of a proven fact, when you take the time to do your make up and put on some nice clothes, your outlook completely changes. I'm not going to lie, my go-to outfits lately have been my pjs. This dress was a recent online purchase and it's probably my favourite thing in my closet. Im already getting so much wear out of it.

April is here, and I'm in a constant state of unrest, staring at everything and rearranging with my mind. I've got a lot of painting to do and a lot of stuff to get off my hands before the basement reno. I've been trying to purge a lot of vintage things I've collected over the years. My style has definitely changed and transformed over the years. These necklaces are something I always wore ten years ago, but they're not my thing any more. In the shop they go. I see another garage sale in our future when the weather warms up.

Okay this post was a little more intense than usual, but it was real. Things aren't always rosy and they don't have to be. That's life. Good and bad. I'm really just looking forward and wondering where we'll go next.